


Who is Nico Kourn?

by outofbinaryspace



Series: Personnel File: Nico Kourn [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abuse, Roleplaying Game: Star Wars: Age of Rebellion, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:19:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29792484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outofbinaryspace/pseuds/outofbinaryspace
Summary: This is the background story of my character, Nico Kourn, in a Star Wars rpg.TW: Slavery, Child Abuse
Series: Personnel File: Nico Kourn [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189910
Kudos: 2





	1. The Bounty

**Tari**

It was nearing night already. Wherever the bounty was, it would surely be dead by now. 

_Not a problem for me though. Said they’d prefer alive not that it had to be alive,_ Tari thought as he continued his trek through the desert. 

He had started early that morning and figured in a couple hours he’d turn in the bounty, be paid, and on to the next job. But this bounty was nowhere to be found. 

It didn’t help that whatever tracks the bounty left were now gone due to the wind rearranging the sand constantly. Tari sighed. 

_Should make camp before it gets too dark_. 

He looked to his left and then his right and then straight in front of him. There were no shelters or trees anywhere. He groaned and took off his backpack. 

“This’ll have to do. My own patch of sand.” He smiled bitterly as he took out his sleeping bag and tent. Once his tent was set up, he took his helmet off. He wiped his face off on the scarf hanging around his neck. 

Before he went to sleep, he drank some of his water, ate some beef jerky, and put his helmet back on. 

_At least the sand won’t get in my eyes._


	2. Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Tari searches for his bounty, Nico struggles to escape in the Tattoine desert.

**Nico**

_Thirsty._

_Gotta keep moving._

_Can’t get caught._

The ten-year-old Cathar cub struggled against the wind coming off the sand dunes. She wobbled as she lifted her tiny legs to climb the dune. 

Her paws were severely burned and screamed in agony as she kept moving. 

_No more whippings._

_So close._

_Freedom._

_Naboo._

Her claws extended into the dune, desperately trying to cling to the ever-moving sand particles. Her throat was as dry as the air she breathed. 

_Mom_

_Dad_

_Please_

Was her last waking thought.


	3. This Is The Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tari finds his bounty but it's not what he expected.

**Tari**

He woke with the two suns. 

_It’d be beautiful if it wasn’t a desert._

He stretched and gathered his gear together. 

Once that was done, he did a quick thermal scan. 

_Hmph. It can’t be that far. They said it hadn’t had time to grab supplies. Probably just out of range._

He started walking in the same direction he had the day before. He was fairly confident he was going the right way. 

_Wonder why there weren’t any details on the bounty. Not that it matters. As long as I get paid._

He spent the next hour continuing his trek. He was ready to turn around when his thermal scan picked up a signal. 

He followed it. 

At first, he didn’t see anything. Then he spotted a cat-like ear.

_This has to be it._

He quickly dug it out of the sand that had piled onto it during the night. 

He froze once he had dug the whole body out of the sand. 

_This can’t be right...this is...this is just a kid!_

They were buried with their back to the sky. Their clothes were badly torn and revealed still-healing scars up and down the little one’s back. 

He gently flipped her over and took in the ears that were out of proportion to the tyke’s scruffy furred face and small nose. 

He checked her wrist for a pulse and felt how slim it was. There were cracks in the padding of her paws covered in dried blood and sand. 

_She’s so small_

It took him a couple tries to find it but he eventually felt a shaky pulse. He hurriedly grabbed his water bottle from his backpack. He situated her in his lap with his left arm supporting her and used his right to open her mouth enough for him to pour a small amount of water into it. 

“C’mon kid, you made it this far! Don’t die now!”

He watched the little club intensely. There was no sign of life.

“You’re a brave little one to have made it this far unaided.”

He cradled her to his chest. “You deserve a warrior’s burial.”

As he held her tightly, she started coughing. 

He held her up as her coughing fit subsided. 

She started trying to escape his grip and clawing at his face which was too far for her little arms to get to.

“Good! You have a fighting spirit!”

The cub growled and bit at his chest. 

“No, no, if you were going to hurt me, you’d need to go for my sides. That’s where my armor’s weakest. However, your training can wait. You need medical attention.”

The cub cocked her head to the side, “You-you’re not going to turn me in?”

Her voice was raspy and full of disbelief. 

“No. You are now my child. My foundling.”

Tari stared into her eyes, “No one will ever hurt you again.”

There was doubt in her deep amber eyes but her body relaxed. 

“You’ve done quite a bit of damage to your paws. It’ll take a day or so to get to my ship.”

He thought for a moment and then untied the scarf that hung over his armor.

“This should be big enough to make a sling out of. Make yourself comfortable-try to sleep and I’ll get us out of here.”

Whatever doubts the cub had about her new-so-called guardian vanished as he offered not only freedom from this horrible planet but the possibility of a companion. 

_I won’t be alone anymore._


	4. A Mando and A Cub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tari makes it back to his ship and a curious Nico can't resist exploring.

“What’s your name little one?”

He tried to keep his voice soft and calm but the little cub wouldn’t stop moving around and touching things on the ship. 

_The nap must’ve re-energized her._

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk but I would like to know your name.”

He set the course, sat back, and then swung his chair around to watch her for a few minutes. 

She barely made a dent in the chair’s seat, even standing up which she was in an attempt to reach the storage compartment above her. 

Tari had done his best to make her new clothes out of his own older, worn clothes. While he had cut them down to what he thought her size was, they still seemed to swallow her. 

He was concerned about how small she was. Admittedly, he didn’t know how big she should be. But using humans as a reference, she was rather tiny at ten years old. 

Seeing that she wouldn’t be able to reach the storage compartment, she plopped down on the seat’s edge and let her legs swing freely. 

She curiously looked around the ship once more before settling on her rescuer. 

“Nico.”

She saw the armor-clad thing nod their head. She still wasn’t sure what or who had rescued her. 

“Nico, I’m your father. My name is Tari.”

“I have a dad. And a mom.”

Tari sighed. “Of course. For the time being, however, I will be your dad. And you are my foundling.” 

“Are you a droid? You don’t smell like one.”

He chuckled, “Well, you’re not wrong. I’m mostly human.”

“Mostly?”

“Yes, I have a couple of cybernetic modifications.”

Her face scrunched tightly together, “What’s that mean?”

He put his hands to the side of his helmet and gently took it off. He placed it in his lap.

Nico stared at him. 

His right eye wasn’t the same as his left. His left eye was honey-colored. His right eye was encased in metal and emitted a neon blue light. The skin around his right eye was scarred. 

She looked at the rest of his face. He had wavy black hair that went every which way. He had only one eyebrow that looked like a caterpillar. His nose looked as if it had been broken at least twice. The lower half of his face seemed covered in short, small, coarse hair. His skin was surprisingly tanned.

“Your eye is gone?”

Tari’s hand instinctively went to his right eye. 

“That was a long time ago. An honorable battle.” 

“What happened?” She pushed herself forward, teetering on the edge of the seat.

Tari’s lips pursed tightly together, “It doesn’t matter, my child. What does matter is how your paws are healing. Do they feel better now?”

Nico nodded. “Why do you wear that?” She asked as she pointed to the black helmet in his lap.

“I am a Mandalorian. As a people, we are very attached to our helmets and armor. It is an extension of who we are.”

Nico hopped off her seat and carefully walked over to him. She barely reached his shins. 

He moved his helmet to the seat next to him and picked her up. 

“Am I a Mandalorian?” She asked, her voice quiet and thoughtful. 

“Yes. At least until we find your mom and dad.”

“What happens then?”

He wrapped his arms around her, “I will return you to them or raise you as my own.”

She buried herself in his arms. 

“What if...what if they don’t want me?”

He squeezed her close, “They will, Kitten. They will.”


End file.
